Golden Harvest
by Posey Puff
Summary: When Carrot Top moves to the outskirts of Ponyville for some peace and quiet, she ends up turning her hobby of gardening into a thriving farming business.
1. Chapter 1

The house looked nothing like the advertisement described in _The Ponyville Paper_.

For starters, it was advertised as having "indoor plumbing" and the only thing that even resembled a bathroom on the whole property was an outhouse around the back. At least it wasn't visible from the road, thank Celestia.

Secondly, the house itself was greatly in need of some "fine tuning" - according to the advertisement, anyways. Not that Carrot Top was against any manual labor or home improvement, but the condition of the "house" - if one could really call it that, as it was more like a glorified stable - was ghastly to say the least. The tin roof was full of holes, the floor was practically rotted through, and the fireplace would most likely burn the whole place down if the hearth was used even in the slightest. On top of that, there were no windows - which honestly probably improved the structural integrity of the building at any rate - and barely any safe places for which to perch a candle upon.

Thirdly (and this was the most insulting of all), the land itself had worse soil than her garden when she lived in Canterlot - and that was on the side of a mountain! It was almost as if the previous owners had actively _tried_ to ruin any chances that anypony would ever be able to grow anything on their land ever again.

"What did your mother tell you, Carrot Top?" The yellow earth pony muttered under her breath as she paced around her new one-room home, "'Always look before you leap!' 'Always browse before you buy!' 'Always read before you sign!' And you had to go and ignore all that good advice, didn't you?"

She could, of course, bring up the issue with Mayor Mare in Town Hall and demand her money back, but that would require weeks - if not months - of red tape and paper work to even get to the mayor's office and years to get her bits back.

She sighed and looked up at the clock on the mantle. It was half-past two in the afternoon, which meant that her "Brand New Home Bash-a-roo!" (the exclamation point being absolutely mandatory) was an hour away. There were some days that Carrot Top wished that Pinkie Pie would just give her a nice housewarming gift and shut up about the whole affair - preferably after buying a large load of carrots.


	2. Chapter 2

One of the worst things about running a farm was the stench. Carrot Top had never had trouble with it at her home back in the heart of Ponyville, but being out in the sticks seemed to just bring out the worst in everything - particularly the smell. Whether it was from that damn outhouse or the mold in the rafters of the shed or the strange scent of wildflowers that pervaded her home, she just couldn't stand it.

The only place that didn't smell like a unicorn's behind was the fields, which was where she spent most of her time. The fresh scent of growth and renewal and freshly turned soil... Ah, it was bliss. There were times where she would just suck up her pride and just fall asleep among the rows of sprouting carrots and under the watchful eye of Princess Luna. She'd wake up aching and cold, but it was worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

One of Carrot Top's favorite things to cook was her world famous carrot cake muffins. Well, they weren't world famous (not yet anyways) but they won third place six years in a row in the "Baked Goods" category at the annual fair - only defeated by Apple Fritter's apple crumble and Pinkie Pie's "Perfect Party Pie".

Back to the muffins at hoof, they were currently being munched on by a certain mail mare and her young daughter...err...sister...err...acquaintance. Carrot Top didn't mind that they were wolfing down the tasty treats with an enthusiasm usually only reserved for ursa minors with a pot of celestial honey, but did they have to be so messy about it?

The yellow earth pony sighed and checked the oven to see when the next batch would be done, leaving her friends to scarf down everything edible. Strangely though, they left her fridge - which was really just a box with ice stuffed in the bottom - completely alone. Perhaps it was out of common courtesy? She returned to the table with a jug of water and three cups.

"Can you help me pour the water, Dinky?" She asked.

"Of course!" The young unicorn squealed in excitement. She was always such a nice young filly, Carrot Top thought to herself. So polite and helpful and ki-

"Are the muh-mah-muffins dah-done yet, Cah-Cuh-Carrot Top?" The mail mare shouted rather than asked, startling Dinky into dropping the cup she was lifting with her magic.

Thankfully, neither the filly or the cup was hurt when it dropped to the floor, and Carrot Top felt a little surge pride at buying such durable dinnerware.

"Just a minute, Derp-Ditzy Doo!" Carrot Top caught herself before she uttered the entirety of her friend's rather offensive nickname, "Just be patient, please! And could you help Dinky clean that water off of the floor? I just refinished the wood in here!"

"Ah-Okay, Cah-Carrot Tuh-Top! No pah-pah-problem!"

The yellow earth pony smiled and returned to monitoring her muffins. Ditzy Doo might be a little...well...ditzy and more than a little...slow, but she was still one of Carrot Top's oldest and best friends and there wasn't anything that would change that. No matter how many cups she broke or how much water she spilled or how many muffins she ate, the mail mare would always be there for her carrot farming friend, and that's all that mattered.


	4. Chapter 4

It was late summer in Ponyville. Most of the ponies who could afford it had escaped the heat by migrating to Canterlot or Fillydelphia or even chilly Stalliongrad. Man Street was practically deserted with not a stallion, mare, or foal in sight.

Carrot Top was more than frustrated with the lack of ponies - she was absolutely maddened by it! Without ponies in town, who would there be to solicit for carrot sales? Nopony, that's who! She had a feeling that she'd have a bumper crop of carrots this fall and she wanted to "prime the pump", so to speak. Cajole a couple of ponies into thinking that they might want a nice glass of warm carrot cider at their side come winter or a crumble-in-your-mouth carrot cake or a batch of steaming carrot cookies or -

Oh, she _had_ to stop fantasizing about carrots. It was making her drool.


End file.
